Dance and Drama

Adding to the beauty and wealth of the Balinese culture is its dance, which is performed during temple festival and in ceremonies of the cycle of life and death. Dances are so much a part of Balinese daily rituals that the performances that tourists see in hotels and restaurants are just a fraction of the wealth of Balinese Dance.

Though the origin of the Balinese dance harks back long before any written history, inscriptions from the ninth century named the wayang (puppet theatre) and topeng (mask dance) as the main entertainment of the day. Even gamelan music had already been performed in the Dong Son broze culture of the first meillennium BC. Apart from the trance dances that are indigenous, much of the Balinese dance heritage actually originates from java.

History of the Balinese Dance

in the 14th century, the defeat of Bali by Majapahit led to the creation of mini-principalities and courts. As a result, a blend of Javanese court and peasant culture was created in Bali. The present day accompanying narrative for dance and drama is to a large extent based on court stories from Pre-Majapahit Java.

Dance & religion

Balinese dance is inseparable from religion. A small offering of food and flowers must precende even dances for tourists. Before performing, many dancers pray at their family shrines, appealing for holy "taksu" (inspiration) from the gods.
In this rural tradition, the people say that peace and harmony depend on protection by the gods and ancestors. Dance in this context may fulfil a number of specific functions:

1)as a channel for visiting gods or demonic gods, the dancers acting as a sort of living repository, these trance dances include the Sang Hyang Dedari, with little girls in trance, and the Sang Hyang Jaran, a fire dance;

2)as a welcome for visiting gods, such as the pendet, rejang and sutri dances;

3)as entertainment for visiting gods, such as the topeng and the wayang.


The Dances fo Bali


The kecak

"cak-cak-cak". the obsessive sound of a choir from beyond the dust of ages suddely rises between the lofty trees. Darkness looms over the stage.

Hundreds of bare-breasted men sit in a circle around the flickering light of an oil lamp chandelier. "Cak-Cak". they start dancing to the rhythmic sound of their own voices, their hands raised to the sky and bodies shaking in unison. This is the unique Kecak, perhaps the most popular of all Balinese dances.

The Barong

The Barong is the magical protector of Balinese villages. As "lord of the forest" with fantastic fanged mask and long mane, he is teh opponent of Rangda the witch, who rules over the spirits of darkness, in the never ending fight between good and evil. During the Galungan Kuningan festivals, the Barong (there are many types, including barong ket, barong macan, and barong bangkal) wanders from door to door (nglawang) cleansing the territory of evil influences.

the topeng mask

This mask dance relates the tales of Balinese and Javanese ancestors returning temporarily to inhabit the mask. Nowadays, the main stories, with their princes and clowns, are preceded by a set of solo mask dances for men- the "topeng keras", or dance of the "strong warrior", the "topeng tua" - a fantastic dance showing the advance of old age in the king's old counsellor, and the "topeng dalem". showing the king in all his glory with enough clowns to fill a circus.

Pendet & Penyembrama

These dances are performed to welcome visiting gods, who are presented with offerings of flowers nowadays tourist are also showered with flowers.

The Kebyar

The renewal of the arts during the 30's saw a surge in dance creativity, producing dances that are still the most popular in bali: short but spectacular non-narrative dances inspired by the dynamism of the gong kebyar, a gamelan orchestra originating from Northern Bali. The most famous are the kebyar duduk and kebyar trompong. these two dances were created by Mario, a balinese dance genius from this century. They are displays of suppleness an virtuosity, particularly the kebyar trompong, with the dancer playing the trompong instrument while dancing.

The Joged

The joged Bumbung is one of the few exclusively secular dance of Bali in which the brightly-dressed dancer invites men form the crowd to dance with her in apretence of seduction. The music is made with bumbung (bamboo) instruments. This dance is very popular with tourists.

The dance begins with a long opening sequence by the female dancer. then, long shawly in her hand, she selects a man from the audience by either pointing with her fan or touching his waist. He (the pengibing) comes on stage to hoots from the audience, and is expected to be as adept at teasing as the women dancer. The better he is, the louder the cheers and roars from the crowd. He may try to pinch her, dance hip to hop with her, or even behave like an angry lover and try to hit her.

The Legong Kraton

The dynamic Legong Dance is the epitome of classical female Balinese dancing. A court dance, it was created in the 18th century in the circles of the principality of Sukawati. Now including a variety of modern "free cration" (tari lepas), the legong is usually the first dance tought to beginners. Months of training are needed to master the perfect mix of posture (tangkep), movements and mimicry. Three dancers in glittering costumes - one condong lady-in-waiting and two princesses whole roles change according to the narrative - usually perform it. The ancient legong used to have a storytellers accompaniment, but these days they are only dance performances.

The Gambuh

The gambuh is teh oldest classical dance in Bali, probably introduced at the time of the majapahit culture. At a hauntingly show tempo, the gambuh dance drama tells episodes from the story of Panji's search for his beloved in the kingdoms of Eastern Java. Now retained in only a few villages (notably Batuan and Pedungan), the gambuh combines the best of both female and male Balinese dancing. An unusual feature.

The Wayang

The wayang puppet show is perhaps the most famous show in Balinese theatre, albeit the most difficult to understand. Basically an epic narrative, it is the key to Bali's unique world of myths, symbols and religious beliefs.

The puppet master, or dalang, tells his story by projecting the shadows of the puppets he manipulates behind a white screen and a large lamp. He plays several characters at once, shifting from Old-Javanese to High-Balinese, singing and hitting a box to mark the rhythm. A good dalang is a one-man-show, being in turns smart, funny and melancholic.